Repulsive

Definitions: Repulsive

Repulsive

Adjective

1. Offensive to the mind; "an abhorrent deed"; "the obscene massacre at Wounded Knee"; "morally repugnant customs"; "repulsive behavior"; "the most repulsive character in recent novels".

2. (physics) possessing the ability to repel; "a repulsive force".

3. So extremely ugly as to be terrifying; "a hideous scar"; "a repulsive mask".

Date "repulsive" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references)

Synonyms: Repulsive

Synonyms: abhorrent (adj), detestable (adj), hideous (adj), obscene (adj), repugnant (adj), repulsive(a) (adj). (additional references)

Antonym: attractive(a) (adj). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Discourtesy	Repulsive; uncomplaisant, unaccommodating, unneighborly, ungallant; inaffable; ungentle, ungainly; rough, rugged, bluff, blunt, gruff; churlish, boorish, bearish; brutal, brusque; stern, harsh, austere; cavalier.
Dislike	Disliked; Verb: uncared for, unpopular; out of favor; repulsive, repugnant, repellant; abhorrent, insufferable, fulsome, nauseous; loathsome, loathful; offensive; disgusting; Verb: disagreeable c. (painful).
Hate	Obnoxious, hateful, odious, abominable, repulsive, offensive, shocking; disgusting; (disagreeable); reprehensible.
Pain	Odious, hateful, execrable, repulsive, repellent, abhorrent; horrid, horrible, horrific, horrifying; offensive.
Recession	Adjective: repelling; Verb: repellent, repulsive; abducent, abductive.
Resistance	Repulsive, repellant.
Ugliness	Frightful, hideous, odious, uncanny, forbidding; repellant, repulsive, repugnant, grotesque, bizarre; grody, grody to the max; horrid, horrible; shocking; (painful).
Unsavoriness	Offensive, repulsive, nasty; sickening. Verb: nauseous; loathsome, fulsome; unpleasant .
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Repulsive

English words defined with "repulsive": abhorrent, Alkarsin ♦ Conine ♦ detestable ♦ flyblown ♦ hideous ♦ Idiorepulsive ♦ Mercaptan ♦ obscene, Otheoscope ♦ repugnant, repulsive force, Repulsory ♦ sordid, Spheroidal state, squalid ♦ Unamiable ♦ verminous. (references)

Specialty definitions using "repulsive": Asceticism ♦ bremsstrahlung effect, Buttermilk ♦ Fugly ♦ Scissors, Sleep ♦ Under-the-Bridge Beastie ♦ Witch. (references)

Etymologies containing "repulsive": Idiorepulsive. (references)

Domain

Usage

Screenplays

That's about as repulsive an idea as I've heard in years! (Brigadoon; writing credit: Alan Jay Lerner)

I'll thank you to take your repulsive metaphors, and go. (Brigadoon; writing credit: Ernest Kinoy)

De facto, night facto, the fact that they're facto-ing at all I find repulsive in the extreme. (Kath & Kim; writing credit: Gina Riley; Jane Turner)

You know, I believe death should be repulsive, so we don't grow too fond of it. (FearDotCom; writing credit: Josephine Coyle)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	Gross but True Food: A Scientific Look at Really Repulsive Foods People Actually Eat (reference) The Book of Repulsive Women (reference) (more book examples)

Music	Repulsive Conception (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Title	Author	Quote
Sylvie and Bruno	Carroll, Lewis	To him such a mixture will seem, no doubt, ill judged and repulsive.
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	The place was repulsive.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	WITCH, n. (1) Any ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil. (2) A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Repulsive" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.23% of the time. "Repulsive" is used about 130 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)	99.23%	129	28,132
Noun (proper)	0.77%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	130	N/A

Expressions using "repulsive": be repulsive ♦ become repulsive ♦ make repulsive ♦ repulsive chap ♦ repulsive creep ♦ repulsive force ♦ repulsive forces. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "repulsive": repulsive-looking.
	Ending with "repulsive": Self-repulsive.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "repulsive"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaan		afstootlik (repellent, repelling). (various references)

Albanian		refuzues, i pështirë (abhorrent, mawkish, repugnant, sickening, yucky), i neveritshëm (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, accurst, beastly, contemptible, damnable, damned, despicable, detestable, disgustful, disgusting, execrable, fulsome, ghoulish, heinous, hideous, loathful, loathsome, nauseating, noisome, obnoxious, odious, putrid, rank, repellent, repugnant, revolting, rotten, sickening, sickly, slimy, sordid, squalid, unclean, unsavory, unsavoury). (various references)

Arabic		‏كريه (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, atrocious, bad, brackish, cursed, detestable, disagreeable, distasteful, foul, frightful, hateful, horrible, loathsome, nasty, objectionable, odious, offensive, out of favor, out of favour, repellent, repugnant, seamy, sickening, sour, ugly, unattractive, unpleasant, unwholesome, wicked), ‏منفر (antipathetic, disgusting, repellent, repugnant), ‏مقيت (abominable, detestable, execrable), ‏مقرف (detestable, disgusting, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, sickening), ‏مثير للاشمئزاز (disgusting), ‏قبيح (disgusting, fiend, hideous, homely, monstrous, odious, offensive, repugnant, ugly, unattractive, unsightly), ‏رذل (be low, reject, vapid), ‏راد (explore, prospect), ‏دافع (advocate, apologize, assert, buckler, champion, cushion, defend, guard, guard against, hold off, impetus, impulse, impulsive, inducement, motive, object, payer, projectile, propellant, propeller, propulsive, score, stand for, stick up for, urge, vindicate), ‏داسر (propulsive), ‏بغيض (abominable, accursed, antipathetic, beastly, blasted, cursed, damned, detestable, distasteful, dreadful, forbidding, frightful, hateful, horrid, impossible, nasty, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, out of favor, out of favour, repellent, repugnant, sticky, ungrateful, unhappy, unlikely, unpalatable, unpleasant, unsavory, unsavoury, unwelcome, villainous). (various references)

Bulgarian		студен (algid, asepsis, bleak, bloodless, cold, cool, dead, frigid, frosted, frosty, gelid, iced, icy, impassive, inhuman, raw, stony, unapproachable, undersexed, unloving, unresponsive, winterly, wintry), отблъскващ (abhorrent, forbidding, rebarbative, repellent, unlovable), противен (abhorrent, abominable, adverse, bastard, contrary, cross, disagreeable, foul, fulsome, ghastly, gross, horrid, loud, mucky, nameless, nasty, noisome, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, offensive, opposing, pestilential, rebarbative, repugnant, scarlet, sickening, sickly, sorry, sour, squalid, swinish, ugly, unattractive, unfavorable, unfavourable, ungracious, ungrateful, unpalatable, unpleasant, unsavory, unsavoury, vexatious, vile, villainous). (various references)

Chinese		醜惡 (ugly; repulsive). (various references)

Czech		odpuzující (repellent), odporný (abhorrent, abominable, bad, detestable, disgustful, disgusting, distasteful, foul, hateful, horrible, loathsome, nasty, nauseous, noisome, obnoxious, odious, offensive, queasy, repugnant, revolting, sickening, stinking, unsavory, verminous, vile), nechutný (disgusting, distasteful, mawkish, odious, pasty, revolting, unappetizing, unpalatable, unsavory). (various references)

Danish		middel med lugt eller smag der holder fugle væk (repellent product, repulsive product), kragebekæmpende middel (repulsive regarding crows), frastoedningskraefternes effekt (effect of repulsive forces, repulsive effect), frastødningskraft (repulsive forces). (various references)

Dutch		onguur (nasty, repellent, repelling, unreliable), afstotelĳk (repellent, repelling), afstotelýk (repellent, repelling). (various references)

Esperanto		malloga (repellent, repelling), forloga (repellent, repelling). (various references)

Farsi		متنفرکننده , تنفراور (Revulsive), زننده (Acrid, Acrimonious, Beater, Garish, Gaunt, Glassy, Harsh, Hideous, Knocker, Loathsome, Lurid, Nasty, Nippy, Pitapat, Poignant, Pungent, Repellent, Repugnant, Sharp, Squalid, Striker, Tart, Vile), دافع (Eductor, Loathsome, Repellent). (various references)

Finnish		vastenmielinen (disagreeable, displeasing, obnoxious, repugnant, unpleasant), iljettävä (disgusting, loathsome, nauseous, sickening). (various references)

French		repoussant (repellent), rebutant (rejecting, repellent), répulsif (repellent, repellent product, repulsive product), horrible (repellent, repelling), affreux (repellent, repelling), épouvantable (repellent, repelling). (various references)

German		abstoßend (forbidding, loathsome, odious, off putting, offensive, repellent, repugnant, repugnantly, repulsiveliy, repulsively, revolting, unlovely, unsavory, unsavoury). (various references)

Greek		αποκρουστικόσ (abhorrent, forbidding, obnoxious, odious, repellent, revolting), αηδιαστικόσ (disgusting, distasteful, loathful, loathsome, nasty, nauseous, queasy, sicking). (various references)

Hebrew		מתועב (abhorrent, abominable, atrocious, execrable, ghoulish, heinous, hideous, infamous, vile), משוקץ (abhorred, abominable, detestable, loathsome), מעורר שאט � פש (repugnant), מאוס (abominable, abomination, anathema, atrocious, despicable, disgusting, foul, fulsome, loathsome, mangy, refuse, repulsiveness), מ�'עיל (disgusting, horrid, nasty, nauseous, revolting, slimy), מסלי�" (antipathetic, nauseous, noisome), כעור (abhorrent, disfigurement, eyesore, nastiness, uglification, ugliness, ugly), �"וח�" (forbidding, objectionable, repellent, repugnant, unsavoury). (various references)

Hungarian		taszító, undorító (abominable, carrion, disgustful, disgusting, distasteful, fulsome, groaty, grotty, grovelling, hideous, loathful, loathsome, mucky, nauseating, nauseous, pooping, queasy, repellent, repugnant, smarmy, ugly), ledorongoló, elutasító (dismissive, negative). (various references)

Italian		ripulsivo, ripugnante (abhorrent, disgusting, dislikable, distasteful, hideous, loathful, loathsome, obnoxious, offensive, repellent, repugnant, unsavory, unsavoury), repulsivo, repellente (distasteful, grim, groin, groyne, jetty, repellent, spur, spur dike). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		悍ましい (disgusting), 嫌らしい (dirty, disgusting, indecent, lascivious, lewd, unpleasant). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		おぞましい (disgusting), いやらしい (detestable, dirty, disagreeable, disgusting, indecent, lascivious, lewd, unpleasant). (various references)

Manx		graynoil (abhorrent, horrible, horrid, loathsome, repellent). (various references)

Pig Latin		epulsiveray

Portuguese		reservado (aloof, box, cagey, chilly, close, closet, confidential, demure, distant cousin, exclusive, freezing point, incommutable, long since, non committal, offish, particular, qualified, reserved, reticent, retiring, secretive, self contained, separate, shy, special, stand off, stand offish, taciturn, unamenable, uncommunicative, undemonstrative), repulsivo (offensive, repellent, ugly, unpalatable, unsavory, unsavoury), repugnante (abhorrent, abominable, alien, awful, brackish, carrion, disgusting, forbidding, grievously, gruesome, hideous, horrible, horrid, loathful, loathsome, nautical, offensive, repellent, repugnant, revolting, sickening, unsavory, unsavoury), repelente (repellent, ugly, unsavory, unsavoury), que oferece resistência, frio (bleak, chill, chilly, clammy, cold, cold-hearted, coldlivered, coldness, cool, devil may care, dispassionate, edge, freezing, freezing cold, frigid, frost, icerink, ill, impaste, lifeless, nipping, non-com, Parky, passionless, phlegmatic, plodder, pre-cured tread, reserved, soulless, tack, tepid, unresponsive, unsympathetic, winterly, wintry). (various references)

Romanian		respingãtor (abhorrent, awful, awfully, disagreeable, dreadful, dreadfully, forbidding, foul, fulsome, hideous, infamous, obnoxious, obscene, odious, odiousness, offensive, pestilent, rebarbative, repellent, repulsively, scurvy, unprepossessing, verminous), repulsiv (repellent), urâcios (disagreeable, disgusting, grumpy, hideous, repugnant, ugly, unpleasant, unsightly, vicious, villainous, wicked), scârbos (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, bloody, detestable, disagreeable, disgusting, dreadful, foul, fulsome, ghastly, loathsome, loathsomely, nasty, nauseous, repugnant, sickening, unpleasant, verminous, vile), ostil (adverse, alien, hostile, ill, opponent, repugnant), odios (detestable, foul, hateful, odious, odiously), dezgustãtor (abominable, disgusting, fulsome, loathsome, loathsomely, nasty, nauseous, obscene, odious, odiously, offensive, repugnant, scurvy, sickening, unsavory, unsavoury, vile). (various references)

Russian		отталкивающий (appalling, forbidding, repellent). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		odvratan (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, accurst, beastly, brackish, disgustful, disgusting, execrable, hideous, loathsome, mucky, nasty, nauseating, obnoxious, obscene, odious, repellent, repugnant, revolting, sickening, snotty, sordid, uncongenial, unlovely, vile), oduran, odbojan (bloody minded, repellent), antipatičan (antipathetic, antipathetical). (various references)

Spanish		repulsivo (hideous, repellent, revolting). (various references)

Swedish		vedervärdig (obnoxious), motbjudande (abhorrent, disgusting, distasteful, foul, hideous, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, offensive, pestilential, repugnant, ugly, unappealing, unpalatable, unsavory, unsavoury). (various references)

Turkish		uzaklaştırıcı (repellent, repelling, suspensive), itici (impulsive, projectile, propellent, propelling, propulsive, pusher, pushing, repellent, repelling, repugnant, unattractive, unlikable, unlikeable, unlovely, unprepossessing), iğrenç (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, accurst, cloying, crying, damn, damned, detestable, dirty, disgusting, distasteful, dread, dreadfull, execrable, filthy, foul, frightful, ghoulish, god-awful, grievous, hatable, hateable, hateful, heinous, hideous, horrible, horrid, infernal, loathsome, lousy, mangy, mawkish, nasty, nauseous, noisome, obnoxious, odious, offensive, putrid, rancid, rank, repugnant, revolting, scummy, shocking, sick, sickening, sickly, slimy, squirmy, stinking, ugly, vile, villainous, yuck), antipatik (as cool as cucumber, distasteful). (various references)

Ukranian		який не прийма�", огидний (abhorrent, abject, abominable, accursed, accurst, antipathetic, antipathetical, atrocious, beastly, bilious, brackish, brutal, carrion, damnable, damned, detestable, disgusting, dreadful, evil, execrable, filthy, ghoulish, grim, hanging, heinous, hideous, horrible, horrid, ill-favored, ill-favoured, loathful, loathsome, mawkish, mucky, nasty, nauseating, nauseous, nefandous, noisome, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, pesky, poisonous, putrid, rank, repellent, revolting, shocking, snotty, sordid, sour, stinking, underfoot, wicked), непривабливий (graceless, unattractive, uninviting, unlikely, unspeakable). (various references)

Vietnamese		ghê tởm (abhorrent, abominable, anathematic, anathematical, cursed, cursedly, disgustedly, disgustful, grisly, loathly, loathsome, odious, rebarbative). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	turpe, turpem, turpis, turpissima, turpissimum. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "repulsive": repulsively, repulsiveness, repulsivenesses. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Repulsive" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: emulsive, replusive. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "repulsive" (pronounced rēpu"lsiv)
6	-p u" l s i v	compulsive, impulsive.
5	-u" l s i v	convulsive.
3	-s i v	abrasive, abusive, adhesive, aggressive, allusive, apprehensive, aversive, coercive, cohesive, collusive, comprehensive, conclusive, conducive, corrosive, counteroffensive, decisive, defensive, depressive, derisive, discursive, dismissive, dispersive, divisive, effusive, elusive, erosive, evasive, excessive, exclusive, expansive, expensive, explosive, expressive, extensive, hypertensive, illusive, impassive, impressive, incisive, inclusive, inconclusive, indecisive, inexpensive, inoffensive, intrusive, invasive, massive, missive, nonexclusive, nonresponsive, obsessive, obtrusive, offensive, oppressive, passive, pensive, permissive, persuasive, pervasive, possessive, progressive, recessive, reclusive, reflexive, regressive, repressive, responsive, submissive, subversive, successive, unimpressive, unobtrusive, unresponsive.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Direct Anagrams: prelusive, pulverise.
	Words within the letters "e-e-i-l-p-r-s-u-v"
	-1 letter: prelives, superlie.
	-2 letters: elusive, leisure, leviers, previse, prevues, puerile, relives, replies, repulse, reviles, servile, spieler, surveil, veilers, velures.
	-3 letters: elvers, ervils, eviler, lepers, levers, levier, levies, liever, lisper, livers, livres, pelves, pelvis, perils, peruse, pileus, pliers, prevue, pulers, pulser, purees, reives, relies, relive, repels, resile, revels, revile, revise, revues, rupees, silver, sliver, uprise.
	Words containing the letters "e-e-i-l-p-r-s-u-v"
	+1 letter: preclusive, pulverised, pulverises, pulverizes.
	+2 letters: prelusively, pulverizers, repulsively, superlative, supervirile.
	+3 letters: oversupplied, oversupplies, percussively, persuasively, preclusively, superlatives.
	+4 letters: presumptively, repulsiveness, superlatively.
	+5 letters: supercivilized, superelevating, superelevation, unresponsively.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.